As Yet Untitled HP Fanfic Story
by HeirOfSlytherin
Summary: Will a blast from the Marauders' past change their very future?? [Contains GoF spoilers...] - This is a work in progress. I'll be sure to tell you when it's completely finished. For now, I'd just love to hear how you like the story so far. :)


**As Yet Untitled HP Fanfic Story**

  


As Hermoine was saying her goodbyes to Viktor and Ron was rather openly spying on them, Harry's mind began to wander. The events of the past few weeks still weighed heavily on his mind. While he no longer blamed himself for Cedric's death, Harry felt wronged that he had not been given a proper memorial due to Lord Voldemort's return. He only hoped that as the wizarding world took aware of this frightening turn of events, Cedric would be seen as an inspiration, a martyr for the side of good.

  


"Thank Merlin, I found you!"

  


Harry snapped instantly out of his trance-like state, and surveyed the crowd around him to see who had shouted. He was surprised to see a ebony-tressed girl hurrying over, merely because he didn't recognise her at all.

  


"Have you seen my brother?!" The girl was trying to catch her breath. "I think I've lost him. Either that or he's being a prat and hiding from me. And I'm starting to not feel so good. Do you know where he is?"

  


Trying to steady the petite girl, Harry was at a loss. Her pale skin was eerily void of colour and her breathing was still a bit ragged. Figuring that Madame Pomfrey would be able to make sure that the girl got home safely and healthy, Harry got Ron's attention and, after ensuring that the redhead wouldn't let the carriages leave without him, he scooped the young girl up and raced back into Hogwarts.

  


On the way to the hospital wing, Harry watched in alarm as the girl fought to stay conscious. He tried to help her focus as they got closer, speaking words of encouragement and comfort. It was to no avail however, as her eyes began to close just as they reached the infirmary door. As she lost her battle for consciousness, the girl was able to formulate a few words of gratitude...

  


"Thanks, Prongs."

  


*****

  


Madame Pomfrey was straightening up the last of the cots when Harry Potter stormed in, with the limp body of a teenage girl in his arms. Directing him to place the girl on the nearest cot, she began to immediately examine the girl for visible injuries, while hurriedly asking Harry for details.

  


"Do you know what happened to her?"

  


"No," the young Potter shook his head sadly. "I was outside waiting for the carriages when she just ran up to me and asked me if I knew where her brother was. She started getting faint shortly after."

  


"Her brother? Do you know where her brother is? She's in no shape to be sent home; their parents will have to be contacted."

  


"I don't even know who she is, let alone who her brother is," Harry shrugged. "I'm sorry that I can't be of more help."

  


"It's alright," Madame Pomfrey tried to reassure the boy. "Professor Dumbledore will no doubt be able to identify her shortly. Did she say anything else at all?"

  


Harry was about to say no, when he recalled her last words. "Well, it's strange - but I think she thought I was my father. She called me by a nickname of his."

  


"Hmm," the nurse was puzzled by the lack of physical trauma and that latest tidbit of information was further perplexing. She wondered if brain injury had accorded, afflicting the young girl with amnesia of some sort.

  


"Um, Madame Pomfrey, will she be alright? Because I really should be getting back, the carriages will be leaving shortly."

  


"I'm sure she'll be fine," the gentle woman smiled. "You can run along. When she does wake, I'll be sure to let her know who to thank for helping her, Mr. Potter."

  


*****

  


Even after an extensive physical and magical check-up, Madame Pomfrey was still not sure why the young girl had taken ill. She decided that she might as well send an owl to her parents, so they wouldn't worry when she wasn't at the Platform with the rest of the students.

  


By the look of the girl's uniform, she was obviously in Gryffindor - the red and gold colours, though a bit faded, were still the obvious vestiges of those considered loyal and brave by the Sorting Hat. Madame Pomfrey pulled out the emergency contact file for Minerva's house and laid it out on her desk. She still couldn't place the girl, though there was a nagging voice in the back of her head that she should know her identity.

  


Hoping that the girl's parents followed procedure when supplying the student with her uniforms, Madame Pomfrey gently moved the unconscious girl over onto one side and made out the girl's initials off of the worn tag of her outer robe.

  


i_B.B._/i

  


Making sure the child was comfortable once again, the school nurse made her way back over to her desk and, after sitting down, began to sift through the list of female students in the whole Gryffindor house. 

  


It was probably the seventh time of hitting 'Granger, Hermoine' that made Poppy realise that no matter how many times she looked, this girl was not on the list. If the girl hadn't been wearing a Hogwarts uniform, she would have sworn that the child had been a straggler from Beauxbaton. 

  


Leaning back in the creaky desk chair, she began to rack her mind - trying to recall some of the recent graduates, in case the girl was an alumni by chance. Even then, she couldn't think of any girl by that set of initials.

  


All of a sudden, a dozen Put-Outers seemingly reversed in her mind. Madame Pomfrey remembered a girl who had had the initials BB. Pulling out an old photo album she kept in the bottom drawer of her desk, she flipped until she found a picture of the girl she was thinking of. Comparing the girl lazily leaning against a statue of a witch that was apparently hunchbacked to the girl lying in the cot across the room, the similiarities could not be denied or explained away. 

  


The middle-aged woman rose quickly from her chair and raced out the door, running headlong into Albus Dumbledore. The Headmaster had heard that there was still a student in the infirmary and had been on his way to check out the situation.

  


"Professor! Albus, you won't believe it! Come inside quickly!" The usually stoic nurse was quite flustered. 

  


Albus followed the woman back through the infirmary doors and surveyed the room, noting the child near the middle of the room - most likely the student he had been told about. He pulled a pair of spectacles out of the purple robe he wore, and waited patiently as the nurse calmed down enough to form complete sentences. 

  


"Harry Potter brought her in a bit ago. No obvious injuries at all, and I still haven't figured out what is causing her to be in this state. I just now identified her," Poppy took a huge breath. "Albus, that girl is Brigid Black. I'd stake my life on it."

  


"My dear woman, are you certain? If Brigid were indeed alive, she'd be ..."

  


"It's her," Madame Pomfrey stood her ground. "I'm certain of it. I don't know what's happened. But I'd swear that she doesn't look a day older than when she disappeared all those years ago."

  


"May I see her?"

  


"Of course," the nurse replied, as she followed the headmaster to the end of the cot. Albus put on his glasses, and sat down in the chair beside the bed. He didn't say anything for a few minutes, concentrating intensely on the young child. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he stood up. "Poppy, do whatever you can to try and wake her up. I'm going to go get Severus. She'll need more than our familiar faces, she'll need a friend." His robes swept behind him as he stormed out of the infirmary.

  


"It really is her," Madame Pomfrey said breathlessly. "I almost didn't want to believe it."

  


*****

  


_"What are you up to, Brigid?"_

  


_Brigid smirked up at the blond boy who was leaning against the headboard of the four-post bed. "Now Lucius, if I told you that, I'd have to kill you. And I like you too much to do that." She crawled up onto the bed from her position on the floor, and sat cross-legged at the end of the bed. "But I won't be able to do anything if Severus isn't able to sneak into Knockturn while he's in London this weekend. That blasted brother of mine won't let me anywhere near it. I think he's discovered how much time I spend with the two of you. Probably fears you're bad influences on me."_

  


_Lucius Malfoy snorted. "Bad influences on you?! I'm hurt! I thought Sirius liked us more than that."_

  


_"He used to," the young girl sighed. "But ever since they had that big fight - the boys seem to think I'm betraying them by spending time with Severus, and you. I tried to explain to them that whatever happened between Severus, Remus, & my brother was between them alone - but they still call me a traitor. I'm half tempted to ask Professor Dumbledore for a transfer this fall. I belong in here anyway, don't know why that stupid Hat put me in Gryffindor."_

  


_"Familial ties, probably. It almost always put siblings in the same house," the charming Slytherin mused. "But enough of this depressing stuff. Are you going to Hogsmeade tomorrow? It's the last trip before we leave, and since it'll be just the two of us, we could sneak into The Hog's Head. Have a little going-away celebration."_

  


_"Could I ever say no to you?"_

  


_"Yes, you have before. I have it written down here somewhere." Lucius dodged a pillow thrown at his head. "No wonder you aren't on the Quidditch team, you throw like a girl."_

  


_Brigid rolled her eyes. "Stupid git, I am a girl!" She tried to lob a sock at the blond, but he succeeded in wrestling it away from her. They both paused, the energy of the moment not lost to either of them. Lucius made no movement to let her go, and she didn't try to get loose either. _

  


_"Really, I hadn't noticed," Lucius said breathlessly._

  


_Whatever moment they were having was shattered by a cough. Seeing Crabbe standing in the doorway, they both groaned. _

  


_"I didn't mean to interrupt anything, but Brigid - Sirius is in the Common Room," the large boy said before ducking back out - not wanting to incur any more wrath from his friend._

  


_Disappointedly Brigid managed out of the embrace and jumped down to the floor. "My keeper is here, making sure I'm back in my cage on time. I'll be in the Common Room bright and early tomorrow morning, so don't oversleep - I don't fancy spending another morning making small talk with Narcissa. I swear she never shuts up."_

  


_"Like you have room to talk," Lucius laughed. "I'll make sure to be up. See you in the morning."_

  


_Brigid smiled as she picked her books up off the chest at the end of the bed. "Good. Oh, and thanks for the help. I swear I wouldn't be passing Charms if it wasn't for you. Well, sleep tight, Lucius." _

  


*****

  


"Lucius..."

  


Madame Pomfrey was startled when Brigid started to awaken. After trying almost every spell and potion she knew of, she had almost given up hope. As a last resort she had combined the Mandrake Restorative Draft she had stored along with an antidote to a normal sleeping potion. The nurse was shocked when it actually started to work. "That's it, Brigid. Time to wake up."

  


The young girl started to open her eyes, blinking excessively to adjust to the light. Her blue eyes darted around her, trying to figure out where she was.

  


Seeing the girl's predicament, Poppy comforted her. "Don't worry, dear. You're in the hospital wing, here at Hogwarts. How do you feel?"

  


"Like I've been run over by the Hogwarts' Express," Brigid groaned. She tried to sit up in the cot, but she found herself too weak to push. 

  


"Don't strain yourself. You've been unconscious for quite some time."

  


"I must have really messed up," the girl sighed, leaning back against the soft pillow. "How long was I out? Did I miss finals?"

  


Madame Pomfrey wasn't sure what to say; she had wanted to wait until Professor Dumbledore returned. How do you tell someone that they've been considered missing for almost 20 years? "Why don't we wait until the Headmaster gets back to talk about that? He's anxious to talk to you."

  


"Oh no! Am I being kicked out? I didn't mean any harm, I just wanted to help," Brigid became almost hysteric at the prospect of being expelled from Hogwarts. 

  


"You aren't being expelled," Poppy tried to soothe the girl. "He just has some questions for you."

  


A tiny house elf ran into the infirmary, carrying a letter in his hand. Handing it to the middle-aged nurse, he darted back out. Recognising the seal of the Headmaster's, Madame Pomfrey ripped it open and quickly read the note inside. Her face contorted in expressions of dismay, shock, and finally resignation. Folding it back up, she moved off the stool she had been sitting on.

  


"Do you think you'd be able to walk, Brigid? Professor Dumbledore has asked me to take you to his office once you're conscious again."

  


Brigid nodded, and slowly tried to sit up again. Having more success this time, she swung her legs over the edge and with, the help of the nurse, was able to steady herself upright. After a few tentative steps, she started to walk slowly at first but soon found herself able to walk without any assistance. 

  


Noting the student's condition, Madame Pomfrey led her up to the second floor and to the gargoyle that masked the secret entrance to Dumbledore's office up in the tower. It took her a few guesses before she remembered the current password ('sherbet lemons') and after the door opened, she ushered Brigid onto the staircase.

  


"Aren't you coming, Madame?"

  


The nurse shook her head. "It's best if you see him by yourself, child. But don't worry - I'm just an elf away in case you start to feel faint again."

  


Poppy waited until the staircase had transported Brigid about halfway up the passageway before she closed the door with a sigh.


End file.
